Method and apparatus for executing an application automatically according to the approach of wireless device

ABSTRACT

A home system is provided. In a method of executing an application, information for executing the application is received from a device when accessing of the device is sensed, and the application is executed based on the received information. Accordingly, when a user merely brings a wireless guest device near to or in contact with an access point or a wired home device, it is possible to allow the wireless guest device to simultaneously automatically set an optimum security environment for a wireless network and execute an application that the user desires.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/706,317, filed on Feb. 15, 2007, which claimsthe priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2006-0014731, filed onFeb. 15, 2006, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, thedisclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entirety byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Methods and apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate toa home system, and more particularly, to an access point located in ahome, a wired device, and a wireless device entering the home.

2. Description of the Related Art

As various types of home devices have been introduced to the market,various home services have been provided. Further, various types ofwireless devices have been introduced to the market, and thus, homeservices that these wireless devices can use have also been provided.However, since communication can be established via mobile wirelessdevices, there is a possibility that a wireless device, which the userdoes not want to use the home resources, will use the home resources. Toprevent this problem, many solutions aimed at tightening security forhome wireless networks have been introduced.

However, the wireless network security solutions that have beenintroduced require users to set a wireless network environment bythemselves. Therefore, most users, who are not experts in wirelessnetwork technologies, rarely use these solutions. For example, in orderto allow a wireless device to use home resources, a user must set anencryption key needed for securing the wireless network into thewireless device. Also, in order to prevent the wireless device fromfurther using the home resources, the user must revoke the encryptionkey installed into the wireless device. Accordingly, conventional usersfeel that using a wireless network security solution is inconvenient anddifficult.

Furthermore, even if the user sets a wireless network environment asdescribed above, the user must access and search several home devicesfor desired content so as to reproduce the content in the wirelessdevice, thereby causing inconvenience to the user. This problem isexpected to become more serious since the types of home devices arebecoming more and more diversified and more users are using thesedevices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention overcome the abovedisadvantages and other disadvantages not described above. Also, thepresent invention is not required to overcome the disadvantagesdescribed above, and an exemplary embodiment of the present inventionmay not overcome any of the problems described above.

The present invention may provide an apparatus and method of allowing awireless device to use home resources through a common sense intuitionalinteraction suitable for a user who is not an expert in wireless networktechnologies.

The present invention may also provide a computer readable medium havingrecorded thereon a program for executing the method in a computer.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided amethod of executing an application, the method comprising, if accessingof a device is sensed, receiving information for executing theapplication from the device; and executing the application based on thereceived information.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for executing an application, the apparatus comprising afirst interface that receives information for executing the applicationfrom a device when accessing of the device is sensed; and an applicationmanagement unit that executes the application based on the receivedinformation.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable medium having recorded thereon a program forexecuting the method of executing the application.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of supporting executing of an application, the methodcomprising transmitting information for executing the application to adevice when accessing of the device is sensed; and transmitting contentto be used for executing the application to the device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for supporting execution of an application, the apparatuscomprising a first interface that transmits information for executingthe application to a device when accessing of the device is sensed; anda second interface that transmits content to be used for executing theapplication to the device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable medium having recorded thereon a program forexecuting the method of supporting execution of the application.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of relaying an application that is being executed, the methodcomprising receiving a first content to be used for executing theapplication from a first device via a first communication channel whenaccessing of the first device is sensed; and transmitting a secondcontent corresponding to the received first content to a second devicevia a second communication channel.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedan apparatus for relaying an application that is being executed, theapparatus comprising a first interface that receives a first content tobe used for executing the application from a first device via a firstcommunication channel when accessing of the first device is sensed; anda second interface that transmits a second content corresponding to thefirst content to a second device via a second communication channel.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda computer readable medium having recorded thereon a program forexecuting the method of relaying the application that is being executed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects of the present invention will become moreapparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof withreference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a home system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an access point of the home system,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a Limited Distance Communication (LDC)interface of the access point and a wireless guest device, according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an Internet protocol (IP) management table of anIP filter of the access point according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of wired home devices of the home system,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an LDC interface of the wired home deviceof the home system, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the wireless guest device according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 8A through 8C are flowcharts illustrating a method of relaying anLDC application that is being executed by using the access point,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts illustrating a method of supportingexecution of an LDC application and executing the LDC application byusing a wired home device, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of supporting executing ofan LDC application and executing the LDC application by using a wirelessguest device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an application of a home systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an application of a home systemaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an application of a home systemaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an application of a home systemaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a home system according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the homesystem includes an access point (AP) 1, a wired home device 21-25, and awireless guest device 3.

The AP 1 connects the wireless guest device 3 to a home or wirednetwork. The wired home device 21-25 is a wired device located in thehome, and the wireless guest device 3 is a wireless device connected tothe home via the AP 1. In this exemplary embodiment, the wired homedevice 21-25 may be understood to indicate one of the wired home devices21-25 illustrated in FIG. 1 but it is not limited thereto.

In particular, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, when a user simply brings the wireless guest device 3 near toor into contact with the AP 1 or the wired device 21-25, the wirelessguest device 3 and the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25 exchangeinformation for connecting to a wireless network, for securing thewireless network, executing an application via a Limited DistanceCommunication (LDC) channel, and exchange content to be used forexecuting the application via a wire/wireless network channel. Thus, thewireless guest device 3 can not only automatically optimally set awireless network security environment but also execute an applicationthat the user desires.

The LDC indicates a communication method of transmitting and receiving asmall amount of data within a short distance of 10 centimeters or lessin a contact manner or a contactless manner. Examples of the LDC methodare Infrared in Data Association (IrDA), Near Field Communication (NFC),Bluetooth, Smart Card, Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID), etc. Asdescribed above, the communication distance and bandwidth of the LDCmethod is far less than those of a wired network or a wireless network,and thus, the wireless guest device 3 and the AP 1 or the wired homedevice 21-25 cannot exchange a large amount of data, such as videocontent and audio content, via the LDC channel. Thus, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, the wireless guest device3 and the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25 exchange content to beused to execute an application via a wire/wireless network channel.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an AP 1 of the home system of FIG. 1,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referringto FIG. 2, the AP 1 includes an LDC interface 11, a wireless networkinterface 12, a wired network interface 13, a wire/wireless connectionunit 14, an encryption/decryption unit 15, a Dynamic Host ConfigurationProtocol (DHCP) server module 16, an Internet Protocol (IP) filter 17,an IP update unit 18, an LDC controller 19, a wireless networkmanagement unit 110, and an event handler 111.

When access of the wireless guest device 3 is sensed by the LDCinterface 11, the LDC interface 11 exchanges data with the wirelessguest device 3 via the LDC channel. Since the LDC interface 11 canestablish only short-distance communication with the wireless guestdevice 3, there is little danger of the exchanged data being disclosedto another device.

Thus, the LDC interface 11 exchanges data with the wireless guest device3 without security concerns. In particular, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, when a user brings the wirelessguest device 3 near to or into contact with the AP1, the LDC interface11 transmits information for connecting to the wireless network to thewireless guest device 3, exchanges information for securing the wirelessnetwork with the wireless guest device 3, or receives information forexecuting an LDC application from the wireless guest device 3 via acommunication channel.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the information forconnecting to the wireless network is used to allow the wireless guestdevice 3 to access the wireless network managed by the AP 1. Forexample, the information for connecting to the wireless network may be aService Set Identity (SSID) according to the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b standard, which represents awireless network service that the AP 1 provides. The information forsecuring the wireless network is needed to secure wireless networkcommunication between the AP 1 and the wireless guest device 3. Forexample, the information for securing the wireless network may be neededto generate a temporary key for encrypting data transmitted via thewireless network, i.e., the information for securing the wirelessnetwork is needed for 4-way handshaking according to the IEEE 802.11istandard. Also, the LDC application denotes an application that usesinformation received via the LDC channel. For example, the informationfor executing the LDC application may be a Uniform Resource Locator(URL) of a web site that the wireless guest device 3 will access whenthe user connects the wireless guest device 3 to the AP 1 to use theInternet via the wireless guest device 3.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of LDC interfaces 11 and 31 of the AP 1 andthe wireless guest device 3 respectively, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. The LDC interface 11 is embodied asa smart card. Conventionally, a smart card is a plastic card thatincludes a microprocessor and a memory therein, and thus can store asmall amount of information. According to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, bi-directional communication in which the LDCinterface 11 of the AP 1 can read information from or write informationto the LDC interface 31 of the wireless guest device 3 and vice versamust be possible.

Therefore, an LDC interface according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention may be embodied as IrDA, NFC, or Bluetooth, thatsupport bi-directional communication, but may also be embodied as asmart card or an RFID that supports unidirectional communication asillustrated in FIG. 3.

If the LDC interface is a smart card, only unidirectional communicationis possible. Thus, the LDC interface 11 of the AP 1 includes a contacttype card reader 1101 and a combi card 1102, and the LDC interface 31 ofthe wireless guest device 3 includes a non-contact type card reader3101, thereby enabling bi-directional communication when using the smartcard. The combi card 1102 is a smart card that includes contact-typecards according to the ISO 7816 standard and non-contact type cardsaccording to the ISO 14443 standard. In an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, the combi card 1102 acts as an LDC medium.

Similarly, if the LDC interface is an RFID, the LDC interface 11 of theAP 1 may include an RFID reader and an RFID tag, and the LDC interface31 of the wireless guest device 3 may include an RFID reader.

First, a case where the AP 1 provides information for connecting to thewireless network, e.g., SSID of the AP1, to the wireless guest device 3will be described. The contact type card reader 1101 of the AP1 writesthe SSID of the AP1 to the combi card 1102 of the AP 1 by using acommand according to the ISO 7816 standard. When the wireless guestdevice 3 accesses the AP 1, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of thewireless guest device 3 recognizes the presence of the combi card 1102by sensing a signal emitted from the combi card 1102. In this case, thenon-contact type card reader 3101 of the wireless guest device 3 readsthe SSID of the AP1 from the combi card 1102.

Next, a case where the AP 1 exchanges information for securing thewireless network, e.g., information for generating a temporary keyaccording to 4-way handshaking according to the IEEE 802.11i standard,with the wireless guest device 3 will be described. In this case, thememory of the combi card 1102 of the AP 1 stores a seed key forgenerating the temporary key. When the wireless guest device 3 accessesthe AP 1, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of the wireless guestdevice 3 recognizes the presence of the combi card 1102 by sensing asignal emitted from the combi card 1102. Then, the non-contact type cardreader 3101 of the wireless guest device 3 reads from the combi card1102 some of the information for generating the temporary key and theinformation being disclosed to the AP 1. The information for generatingthe temporary key may be, for example, a Media Access Control (MAC)address of the AP 1, a random number corresponding to the AP 1, etc.

Also, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of the wireless guest device3 uses a command according to the ISO 14443 standard to write some ofthe information for generating the temporary key, e.g., a random numbercorresponding to the wireless guest device 3, etc., which is disclosedto the wireless guest device 3, to the combi card 1102. In this case,the contact type card reader 1101 of the AP1 uses a command according tothe ISO 7816 standard to periodically check whether the information inthe combi card 1102 has changed. If the information in the combi card1102 has changed, the contact type card reader 1101 reads the MACaddress of the wireless guest device 3, the random number correspondingto the wireless guest device 3, etc. from the combi card 1102.

A microprocessor in the combi card 1102 uses the seed key, the MACaddress of the AP1, the random number corresponding to the AP 1, therandom number corresponding to the wireless guest device 3, and the MACaddress of the wireless guest device 3 to generate the temporary key andstores the temporary key in the memory of the combi card 1102. In thiscase, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of the wireless guest device3 reads the temporary key. The temporary key is an encryption key usedin only a communication session between the AP 1 and the wireless guestdevice 3. Thus, the temporary key is revoked when the communicationsession ends. The seed key is stored in a non-shared region of thememory that the non-contact type card reader 3101 of the wireless guestdevice 3 cannot access. Thus, unless a user allows the seed key to beallocated to the wireless guest device 3, the wireless guest device 3cannot know the seed key. Thus, even if the communication sessionbetween the wireless guest device 3 and the AP 1 ends, the seed key doesnot need to be updated.

Next, a case where the wireless guest device 3 provides the AP 1 withthe information for executing the LDC application, e.g., the URL of aweb site, will be described. When the wireless guest device 3 accessesthe AP 1, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of the wireless guestdevice 3 recognizes the presence of the combi card 1102 by sensing asignal emitted from the combi card 1102 of the AP1. Next, thenon-contact type card reader 3101 of the wireless guest device 3 uses acommand according to the ISO 14443 standard to write the URL of the website onto the combi card 1102 of the AP1. In this case, the contact typecard reader 1101 of the AP1 uses a command according to the ISO 7816standard to periodically check whether the information in the combi card1102 has changed. If the information in the combi card 1102 has changed,the contact type card reader 1101 reads the URL of the web site from thecombi card 1102.

The wireless network interface 12 transmits and receives data via achannel of the wireless network. Here, the wireless network is awireless local area network (LAN) according to the IEEE 802.11 standard,but it is not limited thereto. Depending on the wireless communicationcharacteristics, data exchanged via the channel of the wireless networkcan also be obtained by a device that uses the same channel. Therefore,the wired home device 21-25 or the wireless guest device 3 encrypts thedata by using the temporary key and transmits the encrypted data.

Thus, if the wireless network interface 12 receives content to be usedfor executing the LDC application from the wireless guest device 3 via achannel of a wireless LAN, the received content is encrypted content.Thus, the received content has to be decrypted and is thus transmittedto the encryption/decryption unit 15 via the wire/wireless connectionunit 14. Also, the wireless network interface 12 receives the encryptedcontent from the encryption/decryption unit 15 via the wire/wirelessconnection unit 14 and transmits the encrypted content to the wirelessguest device 3 via the channel of a wireless LAN. Also, when receiving arequest for allocating an IP address from the wireless guest device 3via the channel of a wireless network, the wireless network interface 12transmits the request for allocating an IP address to the DHCP servermodule 16.

The wired network interface 13 exchanges data with the wired home device21-25 via the channel of the wired network. In an exemplary embodimentof the present invention, the wired network is an Ethernet networkaccording to the IEEE 802.3 standard, but it is not limited thereto. Asdescribed above, since the wired network interface 13 establishes wirecommunication with the wired home device 21-25, data is not disclosed toother devices. Thus, the wired network interface 13 exchanges data withthe wired home device 21-25 without security concerns.

In particular, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, when receiving a request for communicating between an IPaddress of the wired home device 21-25 and an IP address of the wirelessguest device 3 from the wired home device 21-25 via a channel of theEthernet network, the wired network interface 13 transmits the requestto the IP update unit 18. Also, the wired network interface 13 receivescontent to be used to execute the LDC application from an externaldevice accessing the Internet, or the wired home device 21-25 in a home,and transmits the content to the wire/wireless connection unit 14 viathe channel of the Ethernet. Also, the wired network interface 13receives content to be used to execute the LDC application from thewire/wireless connection unit 14, and transmits the content to theexternal device on the Internet or the wired home device 21-25 via thechannel of the Ethernet.

The wire/wireless connection unit 14 performs conventional operations ofan AP 1 according to the IEEE 802.11 standard. That is, thewire/wireless connection unit 14 connects the wireless guest device 3 tothe wired network. In particular, according to an exemplary embodimentof the present invention, the wire/wireless connection unit 14 transmitscontent encrypted by the encryption/decryption unit 15 to the wirelessnetwork interface 12, or transmits content decrypted by theencryption/decryption unit 15 to the wired network interface 13. Also,when receiving content to be used for executing the LDC application fromthe wireless network interface 12, the wire/wireless connection unit 14selectively transmits the received content according to whether the IPfilter 17 gives a permission thereof, so that the content can bedecrypted and transmitted according to the permission from the IP filter17. Also, when receiving the content to be used for executing the LDCapplication from the wireless network interface 12, the wire/wirelessconnection unit 14 selectively outputs the content to theencryption/decryption unit 15 according to whether the IP filter 17gives a permission thereof, so that the content can be encrypted andtransmitted according to the permission from the IP filter 17.

When the encryption/decryption unit 15 receives content from thewire/wireless connection unit 14 via the wireless network interface 12,the encryption/decryption unit 15 decrypts the content to obtain theoriginal content by using the temporary key read from the LDC interface11 via the LDC controller 19, and outputs the original content to thewire/wireless connection unit 14. Also, when the encryption/decryptionunit 15 receives content from the wire/wireless connection unit 14 viathe wired network interface 13, the encryption/decryption unit 15encrypts the content by using the temporary key to produce encryptedcontent, and outputs the encrypted content to the wire/wirelessconnection unit 14.

When receiving a request for allocating an IP address from a device, theDHCP server module 16 allocates the IP address to the device. Inparticular, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, when receiving a request for allocating an IP address fromthe wireless guest device 3 via the wireless network interface 12, theDHCP server module 16 selectively allocates the IP address to thewireless guest device 3 as the user desires. More specifically, when theDHCP server module 16 receives a request for allocating the IP addressfrom the wireless guest device 3, the AP 1 outputs the request to theuser. If the user receives the request and permits access of thewireless guest device 3 to the home, the DHCP server module 16 allocatesthe IP address to the wireless guest device 3.

If the content for executing the LDC application is supplied to thewire/wireless connection unit 14, the IP filter 17 determines whetherthe destination of the content is a home device or an external device.If the source or the destination of the content is not an externaldevice, it is determined that the wireless guest device 3 does notdesire to use the resources of the home (the content of the wired homedevice 21-25), and thus, the IP filter 17 allows transmission of thecontent so that the wireless guest device 3 can exchange the contentwith the device via the Internet. If the source or the destination ofthe content is a home device, the IP filter 17 determines whether thedestination of the content supplied to the wire/wireless connection unit14 is the wired home device 21-25 or the wireless guest device 3.

If the destination of the content supplied to the wire/wirelessconnection unit 14 is the wireless guest device 3, it is determined thatthe wireless guest device 3 desires to use the resources of the home(the content of the wired home device 21-25), and thus, the IP filter 17determines whether the IP address of the wireless guest device 3 isregistered as a valid IP address in an IP management table updated bythe IP update unit 18. If the IP address of the wireless guest device 3is not registered as a valid IP address, the IP filter 17 does not allowthe transmission of the content. Thus, the wireless guest device 3,which is not permitted to access the home, is prevented from using thecontent of the wired home device 21-25. If the destination of thecontent supplied to the wire/wireless connection unit 14 is the wiredhome device 21-25, it is determined that the wireless guest device 3does not desire to use the resources of the home (the content of thewired home device 21-25), and thus, the IP filter 17 does not determinewhether the IP address of the wireless guest device 3 is registered as avalid IP address.

If the IP address of the wireless guest device 3 is registered as avalid IP address or the destination of the content supplied to thewire/wireless connection unit 14 is the wired home device 21-25, the IPfilter 17 determines whether to permit transmission of the content,based on the IP address of the transmitter (the wired home device 21-25or the wireless guest device 3) and the IP address of the destination(the wired home device 21-25 or the wireless guest device 3). That is,if in the IP management table updated by the IP update unit 18, the IPaddress of the transmitter (the wired home device 21-25 or the wirelessguest device 3) is registered to correspond to that of the destination(the wired home device 21-25 or the wireless guest device 3), the IPfilter 17 permits the transmission of the content. If so, the IP filter17 does not permit the transmission of the content, and the content canbe shared only between two devices authorized by the user.

The IP update unit 18 updates the IP management table by registering theIP address, which is allocated by the DHCP server module 16, as a validIP address in the IP management table. Also, when receiving a requestfor permission to establish communication between the IP address of thewired home device 21-25 and the IP address of the wireless guest device3 from the wired home device 21-25 via the wired network interface 12,the IP update unit 18 updates the IP management table by registeringthese IP addresses to correspond to each other in the IP managementtable.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an IP management table according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the IPmanagement table is comprised of a plurality of entries, each entryincluding a wireless guest device IP address field 41, a valid field 42,and a wired home device IP address field 43.

When the DHCP server module 16 allocates an IP address to the wirelessguest device 3 of FIG. 3, the IP update unit 18 records the IP addressin the wireless guest device IP address field 41, and a value of 1 inthe valid field 42 representing that the IP address is valid. Also, uponreceiving a request for permission to establish communication betweenthe IP address of the wired home device 21-25 and the IP address of thewireless guest device 3 from the wire/wireless connection unit 14, theIP update unit 18 determines whether the IP address of the wirelessguest device 3 has been registered as a valid IP address in the IPmanagement table. If it is determined that the IP address of thewireless guest device 3 has already been registered as a valid IPaddress, the IP update unit 18 records the IP address of the wired homedevice 21-25 in the wired home devices IP address field 43 correspondingto the wireless guest device IP address field 41 recording the IPaddress of the wireless guest device 3. Otherwise, the IP update unit 18records the IP address of the wireless guest device 3 in the wirelessguest device IP address field 41 and the IP address of the wired homedevice 21-25 in the wired home device IP address field 43.

The LDC controller 19 reads information from or writes information tothe LDC interface 11. More specifically, the LDC controller 19 reads atemporary key from the combi card 1102 of the LDC interface 11 andoutputs the temporary key to the encryption/decryption unit 15. Also,the LDC controller 19 reads a seed key from the combi card 1102 andoutputs the seed key to the event handler 111. Also, when receivinginformation for accessing a wireless network or information for securingthe wireless network, e.g., the SSID of the AP 1 or the seed key, fromthe wireless network management unit 110, the LDC controller 19 writesthe received information to the combi card 1102.

The wireless network management unit 110 determines whether theinformation for accessing the wireless network or the information forsecuring the wireless network has changed, and updates the informationfor accessing the wireless network (or information for securing thewireless network), which is stored in the LDC interface 11, with thechanged information via the LDC controller 19. For example, when theSSID of the AP 1 in the home or a seed key, which is shared by homedevices, is changed, the wireless network management unit 110 replacesthe SSID of the AP 1 stored in the combi card 1102 of the LDC interface11 with the changed SSID or replaces the seed key stored in the combicard 1102 with the changed seed key via the LDC controller 19. If a newwireless guest device enters the home and the user desires to use thenew wireless guest device for an extended period of time in the wirelesshome, the wireless network management unit 110 temporarily writes a seedkey stored in a non-shared region of the memory of the combi card 1102of the LDC interface 11 into a shared region via the LDC controller 19.

The event handler 111 determines whether the information to access thewireless network or the information for securing the wireless networkhas changed. When it is determined that the information has changed, theevent handler 111 transmits to the wired home device 21-25 an eventmessage that instructs updating the information for accessing access thewireless network or the information for securing the wireless network,via the wireless network interface 13 (a channel of a wired network).Conventionally, the event handler 111 can transmit event messages basedon the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) standard. For example, when theSSID of the AP 1 in the home, or a seed key shared by home devices ischanged, the event handler 111 transmits an event message containing anew SSID or a new seed key. If a wired home device is installed into thehome, the event handler 111 reads the seed key from the combi card 1102of the LDC interface 111 and transmits an event message containing theread seed key via the LDC controller 19.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of wired home devices according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, thewired home device 21-25 of FIG. 1 include an LDC interface 211, a wirednetwork interface 212, an IP register unit 213, an LDC controller 214, awireless network management unit 215, an event handler 216, an LDCapplication management unit 217, and an LDC application module 218.

When sensing access by the wireless guest device 3, the LDC interface211 exchanges data with the wireless guest device 3 via an LDC channel.In particular, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention, when a user connects the wireless guest device 3 to the wiredhome device 21-25, the LDC interface 211 transmits information foraccessing the wireless network to the wireless guest device 3, exchangesinformation for securing the wireless network with the wireless guestdevice 3, receives information for executing the LDC application fromthe wireless guest device 3, or transmits the information for executingthe LDC application to the wireless guest device 3, via the LDC channel.The LDC application shared between the wired home device 21-25 and thewireless guest device 3 may be a UPnP Audio Visual (AV) application. Ifthe LDC application is the UPnP AV application, and thus, when thewireless guest device 3 is a Control Point (CP) according to the UPnPstandard and the audio system 21 is a Controlled Device (CD) accordingto the UPnP standard, the information for executing the LDC applicationmay be a control URL that records information that allows the wirelessguest device 3 to control the audio system 21, or a session informationof audio content that is being reproduced by the audio system 21, thatis, information indicating an instant of time when the audio content isreproduced. The above operations of the LDC interface 211 are performedto allow the user to bring the wireless guest device 3 in contact withthe audio system 21 that is reproducing the audio content, so that thewireless guest device 3 can continuously reproduce the audio content. Ifthe user brings the wireless guest device 3, which is reproducing theaudio content, in contact with the audio system 21 so that the audiosystem 21 can continuously reproduce the audio content, the audio system21 acts as a CP and the wireless guest device 3 acts as a CD.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an LDC interface 211 of the wired homedevice according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 6, the LDC interface 211 is a smart card that embodiesthe LDC interface 211 illustrated in FIG. 5. The LDC interface 211 ofFIG. 6 similar to the LDC interface 11 of FIG. 3, but further allows thewired home device 21-25 to provide information for executing the LDCapplication to the wireless guest device 3. That is, unlike the LDCinterface 11 of the AP 1, the above operation of the LDC interface 211of FIG. 6 is based on that the wired home device 21-25 including the LDCapplication module 218 and the LDC application that is being executed bythe wired home device 21-25 being continuously executed by the wirelessguest device 3.

First, a case where the wired home device 21-25 provides the wirelessguest device 3 with information for accessing the wireless network,e.g., the SSID of the AP 1 will be described. A contact type card reader21101 of the wired home device 21-25 writes the SSID of the wired homedevice 21-25 to a combi card 21102 by using a command according to theISO 7816 standard. When the wireless guest device 3 accesses the wiredhome device 21-25, a non-contact type card reader 3101 of the wirelessguest device 3 senses a signal emitted from the combi card 21102 torecognize the presence of the combi card 21102. In this case, thenon-contact type card reader 3101 reads the SSID of the wired homedevice 21-25 from the combi card 21102 of the wired home device 21-25.

Next, the wired home device 21-25 exchange information for securing thewireless network, e.g., information for generating a temporary key or4-way handshaking according to the IEEE 802.11i standard, with thewireless guest device 3 will be described. In this case, the memory ofthe combi card 21102 of the wired home device 21-25 stores a seed keyfor generating the temporary key. When the wireless guest device 3accesses the wired home device 21-25, the non-contact type card reader3101 of the wireless guest device 3 recognizes the presence of the combicard 21102 by sensing a signal emitted from the combi card 21102 of thewired home device 21-25. In this case, the non-contact type card reader3101 of the wireless guest device 3 reads from the combi card 21102information for generating the temporary key, which is disclosed by thewired home device 21-25. This information can be, for example, an MACaddress of the wired home device 21-25 or a random number correspondingto the wired home device 21-25.

Also, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of the wireless guest device3 uses a command according to the ISO 14443 standard to writeinformation for generating the temporary key, e.g., a random numbercorresponding to the wireless guest device 3, onto the combi card 21102of the wired home device 21-25. In this case, the contact type cardreader 21101 of the wired home device 21-25 uses a command according tothe ISO 7816 standard to periodically determine whether the informationin the combi card 21102 has changed. If it is determined that theinformation in the combi card 21102 has changed, the contact type cardreader 21101 reads the MAC address of the wireless guest device 3, therandom number corresponding to the wireless guest device 3, etc., fromthe combi card 21102.

A microprocessor in the combi card 21102 uses the seed key, the MACaddress of the wired home device 21-25, the random number correspondingto the wired home device 21-25, the random number corresponding to thewireless guest device 3, and the MAC address of the wireless guestdevice 3 to generate the temporary key. The generated temporary key is atemporary encryption key used only during a communication sessionbetween the wired home device 21-25 and the wireless guest device 3.Thus, the temporary key is removed when the communication session ends.In particular, the seed key is stored in a non-shared region of thememory that the non-contact type card reader 3101 of the wireless guestdevice 3 cannot access. Thus, the seed key is not disclosed to thewireless guest device 3 and does not need to be updated, even if thecommunication session between the wired home device 21-25 and thewireless guest device 3 ends.

Next, a case where the wired home device 21-25 provides the wirelessguest device 3 with information for executing the LDC application, e.g.,a control URL that records information for controlling the audio system21, session information of audio content that is being reproduced by theaudio system 21, etc., will be described. The contact type card reader21101 of the wired home device 21-25 uses a command according to the ISO7816 standard to write the control URL, the session information, etc.onto the combi card 21102. When the wireless guest device 3 accesses thewired home device 21-25, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of thewireless guest device 3 recognizes the presence of the combi card 21102by sensing a signal emitted from the combi card 21102 of the wired homedevice 21-25. In this case, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of thewireless guest device 3 reads the control URL and the sessioninformation from the combi card 21102 of the wired home device 21-25.

Next, a case where the wireless guest device 3 provides the wired homedevice 21-25 with the information for executing the LDC application,e.g., a control URL that records information for controlling thewireless guest device 3, session information of audio content that isbeing reproduced by the wireless guest device 3, etc., will bedescribed. When the wireless guest device 3 accesses the wired homedevice 21-25, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of the wirelessguest device 3 recognizes the presence of the combi card 21102 bysensing a signal emitted from the combi card 21102 of the wired homedevice 21-25. Next, the non-contact type card reader 3101 of thewireless guest device 3 uses a command according to the ISO 14443standard to write the control URL and the session information onto thecombi card 21102 of the wired home device 21-25. In this case, thecontact type card reader 21101 of the wired home device 21-25 uses acommand according to the ISO 7816 standard to periodically determinewhether the information in the combi card 21102 has changed. If it isdetermined that the information in the combi card 21102 has changed, thecontact type card reader 21101 reads the control URL and the sessioninformation from the combi card 21102.

The wired network interface 212 exchanges data with the wired homedevice 21-25 via a channel of the wired network. In particular,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, uponreceiving a request for permission to establish a connection between theIP address of the wired home device 21-25 and the IP address of thewireless guest device 3 from the IP register unit 213, the wired networkinterface 212 transmits the request to the AP 1 via the channel of thewired network. Also, upon receiving content to be used for executing theLDC application from the AP 1 via the channel of the wired network, thewired network interface 212 transmits the content to the LDC applicationmanagement unit 217. Also, upon receiving content to be used forexecuting the LDC application from the LDC application management unit217, the wired network interface 212 transmits the content to the AP 1via the channel of the wired network.

Upon receiving the MAC address of the wireless guest device 3 from theLDC controller 214, the IP register unit 213 outputs a request for anadmission to establish a connection between the IP address of the wiredhome device 21-25 and the IP address of the wireless guest device 3,which corresponds to the MAC address of the wireless guest device 3, tothe wired network interface 212. The request is a message that containsthe IP address of the wired home device 21-25 and the IP address of thewireless guest device 3. The request is made to prevent the wirelessguest device 3 from using the content stored in the other wired homedevice 21-25, while allowing the wireless guest device 3 to use only theone of the intended wired home device 21-25 that the user desires toaccess.

The LDC controller 214 reads information from or writes information tothe LDC interface 211. More specifically, when receiving information foraccessing the wireless network or the information for securing thewireless network, e.g., the SSID of the AP 1 or the seed key, from thewireless network management unit 215, the LDC controller 214 writes thereceived information to the combi card 21102 of the LDC interface 211.Also, when information for executing the LDC application, e.g., thesession information of the audio content, is received from the LDCapplication management unit 217, the LDC controller 214 writes thereceived information to the combi card 21102 of the LDC interface 211.

Upon receiving information for accessing the wireless network orinformation for securing the wireless network from the event handler216, the wireless network management unit 215 updates the informationfor accessing the wireless network or the information for securing thewireless network, which are stored in the LDC interface 211 with thereceived information. For example, when receiving the SSID of the AP 1or the seed key from the event handler 216, the wireless networkmanagement unit 215 replaces the SSID stored in the combi card 21102 ofthe LDC interface 211 with the received SSID via the LDC controller 214or replaces the seed key stored in the combi card 21102 with thereceived seed key. Also, the wireless network management unit 215outputs the information for securing the wireless network, e.g.,information for 4-way handshaking according to the IEEE 802.11istandard, to the LDC controller 214.

When receiving an event containing information for accessing thewireless network or information for securing the wireless network to beupdated from the AP 1 via the wired network interface 212, the eventhandler 216 outputs information contained in the event to the LDCapplication management unit 217 or the wireless network management unit215. In general, the event handler 216 can receive events according tothe UPnP standard. For example, when the SSID of the AP 1 in a home haschanged, the event handler 216 receives an event that contains thechanged SSID, and outputs event information to the LDC applicationmanagement unit 217. If a seed key shared by home devices has changed,the event handler 216 receives the event that contains the changed seedkey, and outputs the event information to the wireless networkmanagement unit 215. If the wired home device 21-25 are newly installedinternally, the event handler 216 receives an event that contains theseed key shared by the existing home devices, and outputs the eventinformation to the wireless network management unit 215.

When the LDC application management unit 217 receives information forexecuting the LDC application from the LDC interface 211 and receivescontent for executing the LDC application from the wired networkinterface 212, the LDC application management unit 217 executes one ofthe corresponding applications stored in the LDC application module 218,in order to process the content based on the information for executingthe LDC application. Also, the LDC application management unit 217determines whether the information for executing the LDC application,which is being executed by LDC application module 218, has changed. Ifit is determined that the information for executing the LDC applicationhas changed, the LDC application management unit 217 outputs thisinformation to the LDC controller 214. Also, when the LDC applicationmanagement unit 217 recognizes via the LDC controller 214 that thecontent must be transmitted from the wired home device 21-25 to thewireless guest device 3 via the AP 1, i.e., when it recognizes that theinformation for executing the LDC application is transmitted to thewireless guest device 3 via the LDC channel, the LDC applicationmanagement unit 217 extracts content to be used when another devicecontinuously executes the LDC application that is being executed by theLDC application module 218, and outputs the extracted content to thewired network interface 212.

The LDC application module 218 processes the content based on theinformation for executing the LDC application according to the operationresult of the LDC application management unit 217. For example, when auser brings the wireless guest device 3, which is reproducing audiocontent, near to or in contact with the audio system 21 in order toallow the audio system 21 to continuously reproduce the audio content ofthe wireless guest device 3, the LDC application module 218 reproducesthe audio content based on session information of the audio content thatis being reproduced by the wireless guest device 3, i.e., informationindicating an instant of time when the audio content is reproduced.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a wireless guest device 3 of the homesystem, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 7, the wireless guest device 3 includes an LDCinterface 31, a wireless network interface 32, an IP allocationrequesting unit 33, an encryption/decryption unit 34, a key generator35, an LDC controller 36, a wireless network management unit 37, an LDCapplication management unit 38, and an LDC application module 39.

The LDC interface 31 accesses an AP 1 or wired home device 21-25 toexchange data with the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25 via an LDCchannel. In particular, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, when a user brings the wireless guest device 3 nearto or in contact with the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25, the LDCinterface 211 receives information for accessing a wireless network fromthe AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25 via the LDC channel, exchangesinformation for securing the wireless network with the AP 1 or the wiredhome device 21-25, receives information for executing an LDC applicationfrom the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25, or transmits theinformation for executing the LDC application to the AP 1 or the wiredhome device 21-25. The LDC interface 31 has been described above withreference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 6.

The wireless network interface 32 transmits and receives data via achannel of the wireless network. In particular, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, when receiving a requestfor allocating an IP address from the IP allocation requesting unit 33,the wireless network interface 32 transmits the request to the AP 1 viathe channel of the wireless network. Also, when receiving content to beused for executing the LDC application from the AP 1 or the wired homedevice 21-25 via the channel of the wireless network, the wirelessnetwork interface 32 transmits the content to the encryption/decryptionunit 34, which decrypts the content. Also, the wireless networkinterface 32 receives encrypted content from the encryption/decryptionunit 34, and transmits the received encrypted content to the AP 1 or thewired home device 21-25 via the channel of the wireless network.

If the wireless guest device 3 first enters a home, the IP allocationrequesting unit 33 transmits a request for allocating an IP address tothe wireless network interface 32.

When receiving content to be used for executing the LDC application fromthe wireless network interface 32, the encryption/decryption unit 34obtains the original content by decrypting the content using a temporarykey that is read from the LDC interface 31 via the LDC controller 36 orgenerated by the key generator 35, and outputs the original content tothe LDC application management unit 38. Also, when receiving content tobe used for executing the LDC application from the LDC applicationmanagement unit 38, the encryption/decryption unit 34 encrypts thecontent by using the temporary key, and outputs the encrypted content tothe wireless network interface 32.

When receiving a seed key from the wireless network management unit 37,the key generator 35 exchanges information for securing the wirelessnetwork with the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25 through 4-wayhandshaking according to the IEEE 802.11i standard. Next, the keygenerator 35 generates the temporary key based on the seed key and theinformation for securing the wireless network. When the user desires touse a home wireless network with respect to the wireless guest device 3for an extended period of time, the temporary key is generated by thekey generator 35. Therefore, the wireless guest device 3 obtains theseed key from the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25. However, if theuser desires to temporarily use the home wireless network with respectto the wireless guest device 3, the wireless guest device 3 obtains thetemporary key from the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25. That is, inthis case, in order not to disclose the seed key to the wireless guestdevice 3, the AP 1 or a combi card of the wired home device 21-25generates the temporary key, in place of the wireless guest device 3.

The LDC controller 36 reads information from or writes information tothe LDC interface 31. More specifically, the LDC controller 36 reads thetemporary key from the AP 1 or the combi card of an LDC interface of thewired home device 21-25 via the LDC interface 31, and outputs thetemporary key to the encryption/decryption unit 34. The LDC controller36 reads the seed key from the AP 1 or the combi card of the LDCinterface of the wired home device 21-25 via the LDC interface 31, andoutputs the seed key to the wireless network management unit 37. Also,when receiving the information for securing the wireless network, suchas information for 4-way handshaking according to the IEEE 802.11istandard, from the wireless network management unit 37, the LDCcontroller 36 writes the received information onto the AP 1 or onto thecombi card of the LDC interface of the wired home device 21-25 via theLDC interface 31. Also, the LDC controller 36 reads the information forsecuring the wireless network, such as information for 4-way handshakingaccording to the IEEE 802.11i standard, from the AP 1 or the combi cardof the LDC interface of the wired home device 21-25 via the LDCinterface 31, and outputs the read information to the wireless networkmanagement unit 37.

The wireless network management unit 37 receives information foraccessing the wireless network and the information for securing thewireless network from the LDC controller 36, and sets a wireless networkaccess environment and a wireless network security environment based onthe received information. For example, if the SSID of the AP 1 or theseed key from the LDC controller 36 is received, the wireless networkmanagement unit 37 sets a wireless network access environment that usesthe SSID of the AP 1 and a wireless network security environment thatuses the seed key. In particular, the wireless network management unit37 outputs the seed key and the information for securing the wirelessnetwork, which are received from the LDC controller 36, to the keygenerator 35. Also, the wireless network management unit 37 outputs theinformation for securing the wireless network, such as the informationfor 4-way handshaking according to the IEEE 802.11i standard, to the LDCcontroller 36.

When the LDC application management unit 38 receives information forexecuting an LDC application from the LDC interface 31 and content forexecuting the LDC application from the encryption/decryption unit 34,the LDC application management unit 38 executes one of the correspondingapplications stored in the LDC application module 39, so as to processthe content based on the information for executing the LDC application.Also, the LDC application management unit 38 extracts information forexecuting the LDC application that is being executed by the LDCapplication module 39, and outputs the extracted information to the LDCcontroller 36. Also, the LDC application management unit 38 extractscontent to be used when the LDC application, which is being executed bythe LDC application module 39, is continuously being executed by anotherdevice, and outputs the extracted content to the encryption/decryptionunit 34.

The LDC application module 39 processes the content based on theinformation for executing the LDC application according to the operationresult of the LDC application management unit 38. For example, when theuser brings the wireless guest device 3 in contact with the audio system21 that is reproducing audio content in order to allow the audio system21 to continuously reproduce the audio content, the LDC applicationmodule 39 reproduces the audio content based on session information ofthe audio content that is being reproduced by the audio system 21, thatis, information indicating an instant of time when the audio content isreproduced.

FIGS. 8A through 8C are flowcharts illustrating a method of relaying anLDC application that is being executed of the access point according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 8Athrough 8C, the method includes operations performed by the AP 1 of FIG.2. Thus, although not described herein, the operations of the AP 1described above with reference to FIG. 2 are also applied to the methodof FIGS. 8A through 8C.

In operation 801, the AP 1 determines whether information for accessinga wireless network or information for securing the wireless network haschanged, and performs operations 802 and 803 when it is determined thatthe information for accessing the wireless network or the informationfor securing the wireless network has changed.

In operation 802, the AP 1 updates the information stored in the LDCinterface 11 by using the information determined as changed in operation801.

In operation 803, the AP 1 transmits an event message that instructsupdating the information for accessing the wireless network orinformation for securing the wireless network, to the wired home device21-25 via a channel of the wired network.

In operation 804, when the AP 1 receives a request for allocating an IPaddress from the wireless guest device 3 via the channel of the wirelessnetwork, the AP1 performs operation 805.

In operation 805, the AP 1 selectively allocates the IP address from thewireless guest device 3 according to a user's selection.

In operation 806, the AP 1 registers the IP address allocated inoperation 805 as a valid IP address in an IP management table to updatethe IP management table.

In operation 807, when the AP 1 receives a request for communicatingbetween an IP address of the wired home device 21-25 and an IP addressof the wireless guest device 3 from the wired home device 21-25 via thechannel of the wired network, the AP1 performs operation 808.

In operation 808, the AP 1 updates the IP management table byregistering the IP address of the wired home device 21-25 and the IPaddress of the wireless guest device 3 in the IP management table sothat the IP addresses correspond to each other.

In operation 809, when the AP 1 senses access of the wireless guestdevice 3 thereto, the AP1 performs operation 810.

In operation 810, the AP 1 transmits the information for accessing thewireless network to the wireless guest device 3, exchanges theinformation for securing the wireless network with the wireless guestdevice 3, or receives information for executing the LDC application fromthe wireless guest device 3, via an LDC channel.

In operation 811, the AP 1 generates a temporary key based on theinformation exchanged in operation 810 and a seed key stored in thememory of the combi card 1102.

In operation 812, the AP 1 transmits the temporary key generated inoperation 811 to the wireless guest device 3 via the LDC channel.

In operation 813, when the AP 1 receives content to be used forexecuting the LDC application via the channel of the wireless network orthe channel of the wired network, the AP1 performs operation 814.

In operation 814, the AP 1 determines whether the destination of thecontent received in operation 813 is a home device or an externaldevice. If it is determined that the destination of the content is ahome device, the AP1 performs operation 815. If not so, the AP1 performsoperation 818.

In operation 815, the AP 1 determines whether the destination of thecontent received in operation 813 is the wired home device 21-25 or thewireless guest device 3. If it is determined that the destination is thewireless guest device 3, the AP1 performs operation 816. If it isdetermined that the destination is the wired home device 21-25, the AP1performs operation 817.

In operation 816, the AP 1 determines whether the IP address of thewireless guest device 3 is registered as a valid IP address in the IPmanagement table. If it is determined that the IP address of thewireless guest device 3 is registered as a valid IP address, the AP1performs operation 817. Otherwise, the AP1 performs operation 819.

In operation 817, the AP 1 determines whether in the IP management tablethe IP address of the wired home device 21-25 (or the wireless guestdevice 3), which is the destination of the content, is registered tocorrespond with the IP address of the wireless guest device 3 (or thewired home device 21-25), which is the destination of the content. If itis determined that the IP addresses are registered to correspond witheach other, the AP 1 performs operation 818. Otherwise, the AP 1performs operation 819.

In operation 818, the AP 1 allows the destination of the contentreceived in operation 813, and performs operation 820.

In operation 819, the AP 1 does not allow transmission of the contentreceived in operation 813, and ends the method.

If it is determined in operation 820 that the transmission of thecontent received in operation 813 is the wireless guest device 3, the AP1 performs operation 821. If it is determined in operation 820 that thetransmitter of the content received in operation 813 is an externaldevice on the Internet or the wired home device 21-25 in a home, the AP1 performs operation 823.

In operation 821, the AP 1 decrypts the content received in operation813 by using the temporary key generated in operation 811.

In operation 822, the AP 1 transmits the content decrypted in operation821 to the external device on the Internet or the wired home device21-25 in the home via the channel of the wired network.

In operation 823, the AP 1 encrypts the content received in operation813 by using the temporary key generated in operation 811.

In operation 824, the AP 1 transmits the content encrypted in operation823 to the wireless guest device 3 via the channel of the wirelessnetwork.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are flowcharts illustrating a method of executing an LDCapplication and executing the LDC application by using a wired homedevice, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, the method includes operations performedby the wired home device 21-25 illustrated in FIG. 5. Thus, although notdescribed here, the operations of the wired home device 21-25 describedabove with reference to FIG. 5 are also applied to the method of FIGS. 9A and 9B.

In operation 901, when the wired home device 21-25 receives an eventmessage that instructs updating information for accessing a wirelessnetwork or information for securing the wireless network from the AP 1via the channel of the wired network, the wired home device 21-25performs operation 902.

In operation 902, the wired home device 21-25 updates information storedin the LDC interface 211 by using information included in the eventmessage received in operation 901.

In operation 903, the wired home device 21-25 determines whetherinformation for executing an LDC application that is being executed bythe LDC application module 218 has changed. If it is determined that theinformation has changed, the AP 1 performs operation 904.

In operation 904, the wired home device 21-25 updates information storedin the LDC interface 211 by using the information determined as changedin operation 903.

In operation 905, when the wired home device 21-25 senses access of thewireless guest device 3 thereto, the wired home device 21-25 performsoperation 906.

In operation 906, the wired home device 21-25 transmits information foraccessing the wireless network to the wireless guest device 3, exchangesinformation for securing the wireless network with the wireless guestdevice 3, receives the information for executing the LDC applicationfrom the wireless guest device 3, or transmits the information forexecuting the LDC application to the wireless guest device 3, via an LDCchannel.

In operation 907, the wired home device 21-25 generates a temporary keybased on the information exchanged in operation 906 and a seed keystored in the memory of the combi card 1102.

In operation 908, the wired home device 21-25 transmits the temporarykey generated in operation 907 to the wireless guest device 3 via theLDC channel.

In operation 909, the wired home device 21-25 transmits a request forcommunication between an IP address of the wired home device 21-25 andan IP address of the wireless guest device 3 corresponding to an MACaddress of the wireless guest device 3, which is specified in theinformation exchanged in operation 906, to the AP 1 via the channel ofthe wired network.

In operation 910, when the wired home device 21-25 receive theinformation for executing the LDC application in operation 906, thewired home device 21-25 perform operation 911. In operation 910, whenthe wired home device 21-25 transmits the information for executing theLDC application, the wired home device 21-25 performs operation 913.

In operation 911, when the wired home device 21-25 receive content to beused for executing the LDC application via the channel of the wirednetwork, the wired home device 21-25 perform operation 912.

In operation 912, the wired home device 21-25 executes the LDCapplication to process the content received in operation 911, based onthe information for executing the LDC application received in operation906.

In operation 913, the wired home device 21-25 transmits the content tobe used, when the LDC application that is being executed by the LDCapplication module 218 is continuously being executed by another device,to the AP 1 via the channel of the wired network.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of supporting executing ofan LDC application and executing the LDC application by using a wirelessguest device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. Referring to FIG. 10, the method includes operationsperformed by the wireless guest device 3 of FIG. 7. Thus, although notdescribed here, the operations of the wireless guest device 3 describedabove with reference to FIG. 7 are also applied to the method of FIG.10.

In operation 1001, it is determined whether the wireless guest device 3has entered the home for the first time.

If the wireless guest device 3 enters a home for the first time, thewireless guest device 3 performs operation 1002.

In operation 1002, the wireless guest device 3 transmits a request forallocating of an IP address to the wireless guest device 3 to the AP 1via a channel of a wireless network.

In operation 1003, when the wireless guest device 3 senses access to theAP 1 or the wired home device 21-25 thereto, the wireless guest device 3performs operation 1004.

In operation 1004, the wireless guest device 3 receives information foraccessing the wireless network from the AP 1 or to the wired home device21-25, exchanges information for securing the wireless network with theAP 1 or the wired home device 21-25, receives information for executingthe LDC application from the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25, ortransmits information for executing the LDC application to the wiredhome device 21-25, via an LDC channel.

In operation 1005, the wireless guest device 3 sets a wireless networkenvironment, based on the information for accessing the wireless networkor the information for securing the wireless network, which is receivedin operation 1004.

In operation 1006, the wireless guest device 3 receives a temporary key,which is generated based on the information exchanged in operation 1004and a seed key stored in the AP 1 or the memory of a combi card of thewired home device 21-25, from the AP 1 or the wired home device 21-25via the LDC channel. If the wireless guest device 3 has the temporarykey, the temporary key may be generated by the wireless guest device 3as described above. However, for the convenience of explanation, a casewhere a user desires to temporarily use a home wireless network via thewireless guest device 3 will be described in this disclosure.

In operation 1007, if the wireless guest device 3 receives theinformation for executing the LDC application in operation 1006, thewireless guest device 3 performs operation 1008. In operation 1007, ifthe wireless guest device 3 transmits the information for executing theLDC application, the wireless guest device 3 performs operation 1011.

In operation 1008, when the wireless guest device 3 receives content tobe used for executing the LDC application via the channel of thewireless network, the wireless guest device 3 performs 1009.

In operation 1009, the wireless guest device 3 decrypts the contentreceived in operation 1008 by using the temporary key received inoperation 1006.

In operation 1010, the wireless guest device 3 executes the LDCapplication to process the content decrypted in operation 1009, based onthe information for executing the LDC application received in operation1004.

In operation 1011, the wireless guest device 3 encrypts the content tobe used when the LDC application that is being executed by the LDCapplication module 218 is continuously being executed by another device,by using the temporary key received in operation 1006.

In operation 1012, the wireless guest device 3 transmits the contentencrypted in operation 1011 to the AP 1 via the channel of the wirelessnetwork.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an application of a home systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Indetail, FIG. 11 illustrates a case where a user uses Internet servicesvia the wireless guest device 3. In an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, if the user simply brings the wireless guest device 3near to or in contact with the AP 1, the wireless guest device 3 obtainsInternet service content, e.g. a web document, etc., from InternetService Provider (ISP) in the Internet and performs browsing of theInternet service content.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an application of a home systemaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Indetail, FIG. 12 illustrates a case where a user continuously reproducesaudio content, which is being reproduced by an audio system 21, on awireless guest device 3 in order to continue using of the audio contenteven outside of the user's home. In an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, if the user merely brings the wireless guest device 3near to or in contact with the audio system 21 that is reproducing theaudio content, the wireless guest device 3 can obtain and reproduce theaudio content from the audio system 21.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an application of a home systemaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Indetail, FIG. 13 illustrates a case where a user continuously reproducesaudio content, which is being reproduced by a wireless guest device 3,on an audio system 21. This provides a high-quality reproduction. In anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, if the user merely bringsthe wireless guest device 3, which is reproducing the audio content,near to or in contact with the audio system 21, the audio system 21 canobtain and reproduce the audio content from the wireless guest device 3.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an application of a home systemaccording to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Indetail, FIG. 14 illustrates a case where a user uses a Voice over IP(VoIP) based Internet calling service via a wireless guest device 3. Inan exemplary embodiment of the present invention, if the user searches apersonal computer (PC) 22 for a telephone number and brings the wirelessguest device 3 near to or in contact with the PC 22, the wireless guestdevice 3 can either obtain and reproduce voice content from anotherwireless device on the Internet, or provide voice content to anotherwireless device on the Internet. Accordingly, it is possible toeliminate the trouble caused when the user inputs the telephone numberby himself/herself.

The above exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be embodiedas a computer program to be executed in a general digital computer via acomputer readable medium. The data structures used in the aboveexemplary embodiments may be recorded in a computer readable medium byusing various devices.

The computer readable recording medium is any data storage device thatcan store data which can be thereafter read by a computer system.Examples of the computer readable recording medium include read-onlymemory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes,floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and carrier waves (such asdata transmission through the Internet). The computer readable recordingmedium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems sothat the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributedfashion.

According to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, if auser merely brings a wireless guest device near to or in contact with anAP or a wired home device, the wireless guest device can automaticallynot only set an optimum security environment for a wireless network, butthe user can also set an application that the user desires. That is,through only a common sense intuitional user interaction, i.e., bringingthe wireless guest device near to or in contact with another device, itis possible to allow the wired guest device to automatically set anoptimum security environment for the wireless network and to use anInternet service, a VoIP service, etc. via an AP. Further, it ispossible to allow the wireless guest device to continuously reproducecontent that is being reproduced by an audio system, a television (TV),or the like.

Also, according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, aseed key is stored in an AP or a smart card in a wired home device, notin a wireless guest device, and a temporary key generated in the smartcard is provided to the wireless guest device. Therefore, a user doesnot need to set wireless network security information, such as anencryption key, with respect to the wireless guest device. Inparticular, the temporary key is generated only through one-to-oneproximity communication between the wireless guest device and the AP orbetween the wireless guest device and a wired home device, and isrevoked when a session between the wireless guest device and AP orbetween the wireless guest device and the wired home device ends.Therefore, the temporary key cannot be disclosed to a wireless guestdevice that is not authorized by the user, and the user does not need toupdate the wireless network security information by revoking anencryption key in the wireless device, for example.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a first interfaceconfigured to: transmit connection information to an external device viaa first communication channel if the external device accesses theapparatus, wherein the connection information comprises identificationinformation of the apparatus, Media Access Control (MAC) address of theapparatus or a random number corresponding to the apparatus, and receivecontrol information for executing an application from the externaldevice via the first communication channel, a second interfaceconfigured to: receive data related to the control information from theexternal device, via a second communication channel established based onthe connection information, and at least one hardware processorconfigured to execute the application, wherein the first communicationchannel has a narrower communication bandwidth than the secondcommunication channel, wherein the control information comprises aUniform Resource Locator (URL) of a web site and the data comprises aweb document of the web site, and wherein the application accesses theweb site via the second communication channel and the external device.2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first communication channel isestablished by one of Infrared in Data Association (IrDA), Near FieldCommunication (NFC), Bluetooth, Smart Card and Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID), and wherein the second communication channel isestablished by one of Wireless LAN network, Bluetooth or cellularnetwork, for communicating in a wireless LAN network.
 3. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the first communication channel supportsunidirectional communication.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thesecond communication channel is used in a wireless LAN network which iscompatible with IEEE 802.11 standard.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first interface is further configured to receive connectioninformation comprising identification information of the externaldevice, MAC (Media Access Control) address of the external device, or arandom number corresponding to the external device from the externaldevice.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the identificationinformation comprises Service Set Identity (SSID).
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the second communication channel is establishedautomatically based on the connection information provided via the firstcommunication channel.
 8. A method performed by an apparatus, the methodcomprising: transmitting connection information to an external devicevia a first communication channel if the external device accesses theapparatus, wherein the connection information comprises identificationinformation of the apparatus, Media Access Control (MAC) address of theapparatus or a random number corresponding to the apparatus; receiving,from the external device, control information for executing anapplication via the first communication channel; establishing a secondcommunication channel with the external device based on the connectioninformation; receiving data related to the control information from theexternal device, via the second communication channel which isestablished based on the connection information; and executing theapplication to output the data, wherein the first communication channelhas a narrower communication bandwidth than the second communicationchannel, wherein the control information comprises a Uniform ResourceLocator (URL) of a web site and the data comprises a web document of theweb site, and wherein the application accesses the web site via thesecond communication channel and the external device.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the first communication channel is established by oneof Infrared in Data Association (IrDA), Near Field Communication (NFC),Bluetooth, Smart Card and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), andwherein the second communication channel is established by one ofWireless LAN network, Bluetooth or cellular network, for communicatingin a wireless LAN network.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the firstcommunication channel supports unidirectional communication.
 11. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the second communication channel is used in awireless LAN network which is compatible with IEEE 802.11 standard. 12.The method of claim 8, wherein the method is further comprising:receiving connection information comprising identification informationof the external device, MAC (Media Access Control) address of theexternal device, or a random number corresponding to the external devicefrom the external device.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein theidentification information comprises Service Set Identity (SSID). 14.The method of claim 8, wherein the second communication channel isestablished automatically based on the connection information providedvia the first communication channel.
 15. An apparatus, comprising: afirst interface configured to: receive, from a first device, connectioninformation via a first communication channel, wherein the connectioninformation comprises identification information of the first device,Media Access Control (MAC) address of the first device or a randomnumber corresponding to the first device, and transmit, to the firstdevice, control information related to an application via the firstcommunication channel, a second interface configured to transmit datarelated to the control information, to the first device via a secondcommunication channel which is established based on the connectioninformation, and at least one hardware processor coupled to the firstinterface and the second interface, wherein the first communicationchannel has a narrower communication bandwidth than the secondcommunication channel, wherein the control information comprises aUniform Resource Locator (URL) of a web site and the data comprises aweb document of the web site, and wherein the application is executed bythe first device for accessing the web site at the first device via thesecond communication channel and the apparatus.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 15, wherein the data comprises a command indicating whichoperation to be processed and content data to be processed based on theoperation.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the apparatus isfurther configured to transmit connection information comprisingidentification information of the apparatus, MAC (Media Access Control)address of the apparatus, or a random number corresponding to theapparatus to the first device.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, whereinthe identification information comprises Service Set Identity (SSID).19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the second communication channelis established automatically based on the information provided via thefirst communication channel.
 20. A method performed by an externaldevice, the method comprising: receiving, from a first device,connection information via a first communication channel, wherein theconnection information comprises identification information of the firstdevice, Media Access Control (MAC) address of the first device or arandom number corresponding to the first device; transmitting, to thefirst device, control information related to an application via thefirst communication channel; establishing a second communication channelwith the first device based on the connection information; andtransmitting data related to the control information, via the secondcommunication channel which is established based on the connectioninformation; wherein the first communication channel has a narrowercommunication bandwidth than the second communication channel, whereinthe control information comprises a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of aweb site and the data comprises a web document of the web site, andwherein the application is executed by the first device for accessingthe web site at the first device via the second communication channeland the external device.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the datacomprises a command indicating which operation to be processed andcontent data to be processed based on the operation.
 22. The method ofclaim 20, wherein the method is further comprising: transmittingconnection information comprising identification information of theexternal device, MAC (Media Access Control) address of the externaldevice, or a random number corresponding to the external device to thefirst device.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the identificationinformation comprises Service Set Identity (SSID).
 24. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the control information is distinct from and receivedseparately from information for connecting the second communicationchannel.
 25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control informationis distinct from and received separately from and subsequent to anyinformation for connecting the second communication channel.